1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to refrigerator cabinets, and more particularly, to an improved center rail assembly for the refrigerator cabinet.
2. Description of Background Art
Conventional refrigerator cabinets include a horizontal insulated wall separating a freezer compartment from a fresh food compartment. A center rail, or mullion, is typically mounted to the cabinet forwardly of the horizontal insulated wall. The center rail provides a surface on which the door gaskets seal, and it decreases side swaying of the cabinet caused by heavy loads in the cabinet doors.
Certain refrigerator cabinets, such as described in Bottger U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,391, utilize a pair of center rail, or mullion brackets fastened to either side of the cabinet using screws which pass through apertures in a front flange. The center rail is, in turn, fastened to the brackets utilizing a fastener at either end. Such a construction results in fasteners protruding from the face of the cabinet, resulting in a less than desirable construction from an aesthetic standpoint.
Another method for mounting the center rail to the cabinet comprises welding the center rail to either side of the cabinet. However, refrigerator cabinets are conventionally manufactured utilizing prepainted steel. Prepainted steel cannot be readily welded because the paint becomes discolored.
The refrigerator cabinet described in Wilson U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,503 requires a backup plate screwed to the outer shell of the cabinet at either side. A partition bracket is secured at each backup plate, with a crosspiece spanning the cabinet. Such a construction requires visible fasteners to secure the cover plate to the crosspiece. Moreover, this construction requires several additional parts resulting in a refrigerator construction which is more complicated and more expensive to produce.
The present invention overcomes the above problems of prior refrigerator cabinets, in a novel and simple manner.